By Staff Writer
A Government information ban slapped on the private media has startled the Human Rights Protection Party, HRPP, opposition leader, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi.
The Prime Minister Laauli Polataivao Fosi, formally announced the gag order during the week.
Tuilaepa scoffed at the ban as silly, and will not stop the information from getting out to the public.
“It’s foolishness for Government to think they can blind the public to events of interest going on in the country,” the opposition leader ridiculed in his weekly media conference.
“Startling for me to understand why the PM is determined to muzzle up the role of the private media to keep the country fully informed,” he added.
The new directive has ballooned from what started off as retaliation by the PM against the Samoa Observer newspaper to now include the whole private media sector.
“Will it stop the information from getting out,” Tuilaepa poked.
He supported the watchdog role of the media as a vital contribution to keeping the country fully informed of the Government activities.
“The answers from the questions the media posed keeps the public aware of how their lives are affected by the Government leadership.”
Tuilaepa holds regular weekly press conferences with the local media to voice out the opposition party’s opinion on the effects to the general public of Govt. policies.
He is puzzled by the PM’s concerns about information leaks from Cabinet meetings.
He highlighted as a reminder how it is only natural for the 15 Ministers of Cabinet to interact with their wives or private drivers at home or at work.
“The Minister talks to wife, wife talks to her friends and so on and that is one of the many ways for the information to leak.
“It’s the same when he talks to his driver, who then in turn talks to his wife and flows on from there out to her family members and friends .”
Tuilaepa insisted it is wasted time for the PM looking for who is behind the leaked information he appears obsessed with.
“The leak came from within the circle of people he as PM is directly connected to.”